NBA Free Agency 2012: "Plan-B" Targets for New York Knicks

Now that free agency is underway and the Knicks have missed out on acquiring a few of the players who they had on the top of their wish list, it’s time to go after their “plan-b” targets. 

The player the Knicks wanted the most this offseason was two-time MVP, Steve Nash. They even believed they had a sign-and-trade for Nash in “critical stages” before he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers all of a sudden. 

The Knicks countered that loss by going out and signing one of the best assist men in NBA history, Jason Kidd. Kidd will serve as a great mentor for Jeremy Lin, who they will most likely retain after they match the Houston Rocket’s offer to him.  

Here are a few other plan-b targets the New York Knicks should sign this offseason. 

Pablo Prigioni

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The Knicks already have two suitable point guards in Jeremy Lin and Jason Kidd, but they are also rumored to be looking at 35-year-old Pablo Prigioni to fill out their roster.

This is not the first time the Knicks have looked into acquiring Prigioni. Back in 2009, team presidents Donnie Walsh and Glen Grunwald seriously debated bringing Prigioni to New York, but ultimately decided against it. 

Prigioni has played his entire career overseas and was voted as the best point guard in the Spanish ACB League in 2006, 2007 and 2009. 

He will square off against current Knicks Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler during the Olympics with Team Argentina, so maybe he can earn himself a roster spot with an impressive performance. 

Randy Foye

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With J.R. Smith not yet re-signed and Iman Shumpert expected to be out with an ACL injury until January, the Knicks need to add a shooting guard to their roster. 

Randy Foye is a shooting guard who is rumored to be interested in coming to New York to join the Knicks. ESPN New York reported this about Foye’s chances of coming to The Big Apple, 

"He will have multiple offers at that amount and more annually," the source told ESPN New York. "New York would be a great fit for both [playing and financial reasons]."

Randy Foye has been a double-digit scorer on each of the three teams he’s been on in his six-year career. He also has experience both starting and coming off the bench, so he could be a huge asset for the Knicks to acquire. 

Courtney Lee

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Courtney Lee is another shooting guard who could come in and improve the Knicks right away. 

Even though he’s bounced around between three teams in only four seasons, he’s always been productive when given the opportunity to play significant minutes. During the two seasons when Lee averaged over 30 minutes per game, his scoring average was around 12 points per game. 

Numerous teams are reportedly interested in Lee’s services, but none have emerged as the favorite to land the 26-year-old guard yet. 

The Knicks could really use a guard who can shoot from distance like Lee can just in case they can’t bring J.R. Smith back. 

Rashard Lewis

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According to Marc Berman of the NY Post, Rashard Lewis has a short list of teams he wishes to go to next season. This list includes the New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks. 

Lewis met with the Heat recently, but it is unlikely he’ll sign there since they can only offer him the veteran’s minimum contract and other teams on his list, including the Knicks, can offer him much more money. 

Lewis has been hampered with injuries the past couple of seasons, but when healthy he is a very dynamic scorer. In fact, he is probably the best scorer available that the Knicks can acquire for such a cheap deal. 

Lewis is 6’10”, but has the ability to play both the small forward and power forward positions. He could see significant minutes with the Knicks if he could find a way to stay healthy. 

Marcus Camby

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The player the Knicks should be going after the hardest right now is Marcus Camby. 

Last season the team lacked a reserve center to play when Tyson Chandler needed a break. The former Knick would be perfect to come back to New York since he has a very similar style of play that Chandler does. 

Even though he is already 38 years old, Camby can still be a very effective rebounder and defender in the paint. For his career, Camby has averaged 9.9 rebounds per game and 2.4 blocks per game. 

The Knicks met with Camby on July 8 and hopefully will be able to convince him to sign their mid-level exception contract to join the team shortly after that. Having a player like Camby coming off the bench would significantly improve the team as they will now have a dominant defender manning the paint at all times during the game.